ARNETT HIRED: Brit Hume mentioned this earlier, but I have now seen confirmation: Daily Mirror hires Peter Arnett. Not too surprising, I guess, given the sleazy nature of that tabloid.
You have to love Arnett’s gall, though. His announcement upon being fired by NBC:
Arnett, on NBC’s “Today” show on Monday, said he was sorry for his statement but added “I said over the weekend what we all know about the war.”
“I want to apologize to the American people for clearly making a misjudgment,” the New Zealand-born Arnett said. He said he would try to leave Baghdad now, joking “there’s a small island in the South Pacific that I’ve inhabited that I’ll try to swim to.”
His announcement upon the tab hire:
“I am still in shock and awe at being fired,” Arnett wrote for the newspaper, which is vehemently opposed to the war. “I report the truth of what is happening here in Baghdad and will not apologize for it.”
Well, I have finally grown tired of Blog*Spot’s inability to maintain adequate server capacity and redundancy. It was bad enough when I was using their free service; it is simply theft when they’re charging for it. Not only is the site totally down or inordinately slow way too often but they offer virtually no customer support. I’ve submitted customer service queries days ago and still not heard back.
Anyone thinking of paying for their “upgraded” service should stop thinking about it right now. Don’t do it.
I’ll be switching to a real hosting service in the next few days. I’ll keep you posted when I get a new URL.
BLAME GAME: Newsweek’s cover story, “A Plan Under Attack,” discusses the bureaucratic wrangling going on behind the scenes as well as some “lessons learned” Iraq may have taken from Somalia.
Now let’s consult the watch. How long does it take the thousands of vehicles in a U.S. heavy division–like, say, the 3rd Infantry Division–to drive past a single point? As every commuter knows, it depends on the size of the road, the quality of the traffic management and the number of accidents. But the answer is more often days than hours. Also, when you’re driving a 70-ton M1 tank, you have to stop for gas regularly. Sometimes in war the enemy shoots back, even attacking your supply lines, scorching the earth (or oil wells) behind them as they retreat, or trying to strike at your friends nearby.
CAPTION CONTEST: Don’t forget to submit your entries in the latest OTB caption contest. There are several good entries already. The results will be announced after noon Eastern tomorrow.
GERALDO BOOTED: A bad day all around for publicity hounds. Drudge reports Geraldo has been thrown out of Iraq after “giving away crucial details of future military operations during a live broadcast.” Michele reports that CNN has aired reports saying the same thing.
The crowd of mouthy retired generals questioning the Pentagon’s tactics in the Iraq war is really starting to irk the White House and the Pentagon. “They’re out of control,” says a top Bush insider. “At best, their information is 10 years old,” says another official. The problem: Ex-officers hired as network analysts for $10,000 or more don’t have the full war picture, though many are getting the inside skinny from their Pentagon pals. Also: Some are crossing the loose-lips-sink-ships line. “It’s their desire to still be relevant,” sneers another Bushie. It even prompted Gen. Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, to ask many to tone it down. Yet two remain “general pains,” says the Bush aide: Barry McCaffrey, who predicts 3,000 coalition deaths, and Wesley Clark, who’s eyeing a 2004 presidential bid. Meanwhile, associates of former President Clinton say the White House provides him war updates both to compare notes and give “guidance.” (Ditto for former defense secretaries and national security advisers.) One result: Clinton turned an analytical war speech last week into a three-minute call for support for Bush.
